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2 Corinthians 13:1–6

Coming with Authority

13 This will be athe third time I am coming to you. b“By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.” cI have told you before, and foretell as if I were present the second time, and now being absent 1I write to those dwho have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again eI will not spare—since you seek a proof of Christ fspeaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but mighty gin you. hFor though He was crucified in weakness, yet iHe lives by the power of God. For jwe also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you.

Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, kthat Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you 2are ldisqualified. But I trust that you will know that we are not disqualified.

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2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — The New International Version (NIV)

This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — English Standard Version (ESV)

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every charge must be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. I warned those who sinned before and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again I will not spare them— since you seek proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — King James Version (KJV 1900)

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare: Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you. Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — New Living Translation (NLT)

This is the third time I am coming to visit you (and as the Scriptures say, “The facts of every case must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses”). I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that next time I will not spare them.

I will give you all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. Christ is not weak when he deals with you; he is powerful among you. Although he was crucified in weakness, he now lives by the power of God. We, too, are weak, just as Christ was, but when we deal with you we will be alive with him and will have God’s power.

Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith. As you test yourselves, I hope you will recognize that we have not failed the test of apostolic authority.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — New Century Version (NCV)

I will come to you for the third time. “Every case must be proved by two or three witnesses.” When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. Now I am away from you, and I give a warning to all the others. When I come to you again, I will not be easy with them. You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak among you, but he is powerful. It is true that he was weak when he was killed on the cross, but he lives now by God’s power. It is true that we are weak in Christ, but for you we will be alive in Christ by God’s power.

Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. You know that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you fail the test. But I hope you will see that we ourselves have not failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — American Standard Version (ASV)

This is the third time I am coming to you. At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established. I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, to them that have sinned heretofore, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare; seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you: for he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him through the power of God toward you. Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate. But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)

This third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every matter be established. I have declared beforehand, and I say beforehand as present the second time, and now absent, to those that have sinned before, and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare. Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, (who is not weak towards you, but is powerful among you, for if indeed he has been crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power; for indeed we are weak in him, but we shall live with him by God’s power towards you,) examine your own selves if ye be in the faith; prove your own selves: do ye not recognise yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you, unless indeed ye be reprobates? Now I hope that ye will know that we are not reprobates.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

This is the third time that I’ll be visiting you. Every accusation must be verified by two or three witnesses. I already warned you when I was with you the second time, and even though I’m not there now, I’m warning you again. When I visit you again, I won’t spare you. That goes for all those who formerly led sinful lives as well as for all the others. Since you want proof that Christ is speaking through me, that’s what you’ll get. Christ isn’t weak in dealing with you. Instead, he makes his power felt among you. He was weak when he was crucified, but by God’s power he lives. We are weak with him, but by God’s power we will live for you with his help. 

Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith. Test yourselves! Don’t you recognize that you are people in whom Jesus Christ lives? Could it be that you’re failing the test? I hope that you will realize that we haven’t failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. I gave a warning when I was present the second time, and now I give a warning while I am absent to those who sinned before and to all the rest: If I come again, I will not be lenient, since you seek proof of Christ speaking in me. He is not weak toward you, but powerful among you. In fact, He was crucified in weakness, but He lives by God’s power. For we also are weak in Him, yet toward you we will live with Him by God’s power.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves. Or do you yourselves not recognize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless you fail the test. And I hope you will recognize that we do not fail the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

This is the third time I am coming to you. “Any charge must be sustained by the evidence of two or three witnesses.” I warned those who sinned previously and all the others, and I warn them now while absent, as I did when present on my second visit, that if I come again, I will not be lenient— since you desire proof that Christ is speaking in me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful in you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God. For we are weak in him, but in dealing with you we will live with him by the power of God.

Examine yourselves to see whether you are living in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless, indeed, you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)

This is the third time I am coming to you. By the testimony of two or three witnesses every word will be established. I have already said when I was present the second time, and although I am absent now I also say in advance to those who sinned previously and to all the rest, that if I come again I will not spare anyone, since you are demanding proof that Christ, who is not weak toward you, but is powerful among you, is speaking in me. For indeed, he was crucified because of weakness, but he lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we will live together with him because of the power of God toward you.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith. Examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you are unqualified? And I hope that you will recognize that we are not unqualified!

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)

This will be my third visit to you. Scripture says, “Every matter must be proved by the words of two or three witnesses.” I already warned you during my second visit. I now say it again while I’m away. When I return, I won’t spare those who sinned earlier. I won’t spare any of the others either.

You are asking me to prove that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. He is powerful among you. It is true that Christ was nailed to the cross because he was weak. But he lives by God’s power. In the same way, I share his weakness. But by God’s power I will live with him to serve you.

Take a good look at yourselves to see if you are really believers. Test yourselves. Don’t you realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test! I hope you will discover that I haven’t failed the test.

2 Corinthians 13:1–6 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)

This is the third time I am coming to you. Every fact is to be confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

I have previously said when present the second time, and though now absent I say in advance to those who have sinned in the past and to all the rest as well, that if I come again I will not spare anyone,

since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me, and who is not weak toward you, but mighty in you.

For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you.

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.


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